Frank McCourt, the real estate billionaire, is making strides towards purchasing the US operations of the prominent social media platform, TikTok, under his venture, Project Liberty. In this endeavour, he is being supported by Kirkland & Ellis, the highest grossing law firm globally, and Guggenheim Securities, a leading investment banking and capital markets business.
McCourt has expressed his desire to give users increased agency over their digital identities and data via Project Liberty. Through a project announcement, he divulged plans regarding this coalition bid for TikTok, aspiring to facilitate an alternative for the current technological model which, in his words, has “colonized the internet”. Regardless of his ambitious objectives, the law firm has yet to comment on their involvement in the project.
The push to possess the American operations of TikTok has been spurred by a new law, signed by President Joe Biden, which threatens to ban the popular social media app in the absence of its sale. To retaliate, ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, has legally challenged this law, seeking the legal support of Covington & Burling and Mayer Brown in the process. It seems that ByteDance would rather risk shutting down its popular app than sell it, as per recent reports.
Full details on Project Liberty’s bid and Kirkland & Ellis’ involvement can be found here.